'Sonic the Hedgehog' film receives November 2019 release date

Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Paramount has announced that their upcoming film based on iconic video game character Sonic the Hedgehog will race into theaters on Nov. 15, 2019.

The film is set to be directed by Jeff Fowler who is known for directing 2005 Oscar-nominated short Gopher Broke with a script by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, noted The Hollywood Reporter.

Deadpool director Tim Miller, who worked with Fowler on Gopher Broke, is executive producing. The studio has plans to present the film as a mix of live-action and CGI.

Paramount began developing the project after they acquired the rights to the character from Sony Pictures who let the film rights lapse. The film was first announced in June 2016 by Sega, who handles the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, as the company celebrated the 25th anniversary of the blue speedster.

The release date places Sonic on the same day as Warner Bros.' upcoming musical comedy Margie Claus starring Melissa McCarthy as the wife of Santa Claus.

The character's first title Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis. The series to date has sold more than 360 million copies across various gaming platforms. Sega's most recent game, Sonic Mania, arrived in August for the Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.